To that end, it is time to throw off the yoke of terror placed upon the people of Pennsylvania. It is time to raise a collective middle finger to Eddie Khoury and Ronnie Bonner. What shall fill the gap? Who can save the Commonwealth? Blessedly, the Bloodhound Gang recorded its own track titled “Pennsylvania.” This song, from their upcoming CD “Hefty Fine” (to be released 9/13/05) is a track worthy of being the Pennsylvania state song. It is a song that will return Pennsylvania to the greatness it once had, such greatness as when the Declaration of Independence was signed within its proud borders.

you can read more about this here. or don’t, if you’d like to save a brain cell or two.

(spoon at the tla)

so its been a while since i’ve given you an update on anything, primarily because im so swamped in work that this [pointing all around] seems like a wicked luxury. plus, ive kind of held off on a couple things, specifically live music reviews, because the caliber of bands i’ve seen in the last 2-3 weeks has been off the charts. most of these bands are the ones i skipped during sxsw, because i knew it would be much more rewarding [and uh, free / cheap] to see them in my hometown. here’s the run down:

» spoon [6/4 @ TLA]: well, you know. they’re the band im near-psychotically obsessed with. even though it was a hits filled set, it was wonderful. the audience was off the hook, singing songs and dancing. here’s the setlist: beast and dragon, adored / i turn my camera on / someone something / lines in the suit / monsieur valentine / fitted shirt / the delicate place / car radio / anything you want / paper tiger / small stakes / sister jack / i summon you / infinite pet / the way we get by / me and the bean / my mathematical mind // metal detektor / take a walk / jonathan fisk

» electrelane [6/4 @ khyber]: if spoon’s success lie in their polished and wiry tunes, electrelane are like walking through a sonic rosebush. it was complete chaos. the audience ate it up and spat it back at the band.

» the juan maclean [6/11 @ transit]: first thing i thought when the band took the stage, is their equipment broken? i mean, ive heard this band before but the vocoders sounded fuzzy [if that makes sense] and it just seemed off for a hot minute.

» lcd soundsystem [6/11 @ transit]: the crowning jewel in the making time reign — where do they go from here? lcd were top and the audience were dancing furiously, screaming as if tonight were the last night of the world.

» m.i.a. [6/13 @ transit]: by far, the biggest letdown of them all. i cant belive all you hip motherfuckers waited in line during sxsw for this shit. you should have had your badge revoked. maya turned all rockstar on us and didnt show up onstage until 15 minutes before the show had to end. so she performed for 20 minutes and while she turned out a great, energetic set, it certainly wasnt worth standing around for a couple of hours. i could have been home, getting my work accomplished!

» doug gillard [6/17 @ tritone]: i believe the correct phrase to describe my mood pre-show was “losing my shit” but not in the good way, like audiences above. but you know, it was just fine. in fact, all the bands were amazing. everyone knows my love for the a-sides, so enough about that. the bigger lovers, despite a couple of technical problems, put on a fantastic set as well. but doug topped them all — lots of songs from his old band gem, as well as the stuff off the new album and yes, “i am a tree” which sounded mighty in that teeny room.

“The Live 8 concert will happen on July 2, and at 8 a.m. on July 3, I will be on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway and it will be clean. Do you hear me? It will be clean.” – John Street

how are we going to know parkway’s been cleaned if it was a filthy mess in the first place? gently replace the sleeping homeless people in logan square without waking them up? i love the smell of a promise that obviously cannot be kept, especially everything the city has said regarding live8.

The legal document, variously described as a memorandum of understanding and a letter of intent, will lay out the division of responsibilities between the city government and Electric Factory Concerts.

where’s the “in case the city breaks out into a motherfucking riot…” clause? i have this sneaking suspicion that electric factory concerts might be able to handle crowd control better than city police.

will you be here when center city is ablaze?

They kind of sound like Boards of Canada. Dont you like that band? One or two of these guys are ex-Lilys but so is like, 50% of Philly’s musical community. But you like Lilys, right? Anyway, Diagram going on tour. You can listen here.

07-01 Providence, RI - AS220
07-02 Gloucester, MA - Fishtown Artspace
07-05 Toronto, ON - Smiling Buddha Bar
07-06 Buffalo, NY - TBA
07-08 Pittsburgh, PA - Garfield Artworks
07-09 New York, NY - Pianos

ah, the mighty polvo. here’s a video for “vibracobra” for which you need netscape 4.7 [?!] to view. i guess that makes sense, keeping your browser old school and stuff.

thanks, john.

so, my first show back at the station after basically 9 months of not being there and well, it felt kind of weird. im sure that within a couple weeks ill be back in the swing of things.

the show was fairly heavy on PA stuff, which i hope to get away from in the future because thats not the point of the show. i want stuff from both sides of the delaware; i made it a point to constantly reiterate that feeling. plus, the more philly stuff i play, the less of a chance it gets to be on air because there is a generally accepted rule of playing an artist approximately once a month on your show. [of course, since the scope of the show is so limited i may have to break that down to every 2 weeks or something.]

i think for the first time ever, im going to sit down this weekend and work out a structure to the show, like, alternate between sets of new and old stuff from both states. i dont know. its something i plan on doing over the weekend from my hammock.

the biggest downer is that i recorded the show on my computer and while it worked out fine, i fucked up the files when trying to splice them together, so no recording this week. i do intend to podcast each week’s show here — stay tuned for information.

you can view the set below or check it here.

Read the rest of this entry »

[photographed at the school of rock last summer]

Don and Sheena spent the last 3 years of their life working on this film about the real-life Paul Green School of Rock, based here in Philly — a program so awesome it makes me totally jealous that I got stuck with boring jazz band and cello lessons as a teenager. Here’s a link:

http://www.schoolofrock.com/

Meanwhile, “School of Rock”, became a hit / cult favorite / etc etc…

So you can see, its kind of depressing / ironic / etc etc that a film which stole its entire premise from the real life thing [yes, there is a lawsuit pending] makes millions of dollars while the real thing is on the verge of being taken out of screening barely a week into is release.

Help Don and Sheena out! And please, pass this message along.

Dear Friends,

This weekend, our film, ROCK SCHOOL, opened on 32 screens in 8 cities, and almost no one showed up. Saturday night, Don and I got a call from the head of the studio, and he was less than hopeful about the life span of this film. Well, we don’t believe that for a second, especially not after only two days, and not before it opens in our hometown. We spent every ounce of our energy, every dime in our banks, to make this dream a reality. We got picked up, and since that time, got nothing but rave reviews. Just look at all of the press out there, talk to people who have been to advanced screenings, and you will hear that this is a great film that deserves to be seen.

Help us show the big studios that there’s a market out there for more than just blockbusters. We thank everyone for their love and support. We thank everyone for going to our premieres and advanced screenings. Unfortunately, it’s not enough. We need you to go to the theaters. We need you to send this email to your friends, get a group together, and buy a ticket for ROCK SCHOOL this weekend. The studio and theater owners will pull out of we don’t put butts in the seats this weekend. If you can go out, and bring three friends, we know they’ll enjoy it, and then maybe they’ll bring three friends to another screening. We really need a grass roots campaign to start, and we can¹t do it without you.

Please visit for theater locations:

http://www.rockschoolthemovie.com/

All our love,
Sheena and Don
– Don Argott Producer/Director of Photography 9.14 Pictures

Cynthia G. Mason “Surprise, AZ”

the believer knows something: philly bands are awesome. that’s why they’ve been featured on the believer comps. well, its time for another to shine. as reported at pitchfork, this cd will feature bands covering another band / artist. [also to note is that two of my faves, spoon and the constantines, are on the comp as well. the cons recorded their contribution here in philly, with edan cohen at soundgun studios.]

while i love the ornate touches on richard buckner’s totally classic “surprise, az”, particularly the dobro and harmonica, sometimes i cant but feel that it might be made better if it were well, made under. and who better than cynthia mason, one of my favorite local musicians to perform the task? recorded with just some light fingerpicking on the guitar, cynthia’s voice slips back and forth between the two poles of talking and singing, never pledging allegiance to either, which makes the gray area covered in buckner’s lyrics ever more affecting.

(Find out more about Cynthia G Mason here)

so… does anyone care that siren fest is being partially sponsored by the army? 138 people read my blog yesterday and had absolutely nothing to say. were you shocked? thrilled to know you can score some free garnier fructisse? what?

pitchfork omitted the army’s sponsorship in their announcement.

in the last couple of days i’ve watched a several rock movies [head, woodstock, gimme shelter] and immersed myself in edmund burke’s writing. so hopefully you can understand how and why my mind is blown by the silence and ultimately by the hypocrisy displayed by everyone involved — organizers, audience and perhaps most disappointing of all, the bands.